REVENUE REGULATIONS NO. 11-2006 issued on July 21, 2006 promulgates the
consolidated regulations on the accreditation of tax practitioners/agents as a prerequisite to their
practice or representation before the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and further simplifies and
supersedes Revenue Regulations (RR) No. 15-99.
The duties of the Revenue National Accreditation Board (RNAB) in the National Office
and the Revenue Regional Accreditation Board (RRAB) in each Revenue Region are the
following:
a. To act upon all applications to practice before the BIR;
b. To institute and provide for the conduct of accreditation, suspension or
disaccreditation proceedings; and
c. To perform such other duties as are necessary or appropriate to carry out their
functions as prescribed by the Secretary of Finance. Provided, however, that any
action or decision of the RRAB shall only become final upon affirmation by the
RNAB and/or by the Commissioner.
The RRAB and RNAB shall have jurisdiction over the following persons and shall
require their accreditation with the BIR:
a. Individual tax practitioners engaged in private practice who are Certified Public
Accountants (CPAs), CPA-Lawyers who issue/sign auditor’s certificates or otherwise
perform functions exclusively pertaining to a CPA and individuals other than CPAs
who meet the qualifications prescribed in these Regulations;
b. Partners of a General Professional Partnership (GPP) engaged in the practice of
taxation, accountancy, and/or auditing; their duly authorized officers or
representatives who regularly appear or otherwise engage in tax practice before the
BIR;
c. GPP engaged in the practice of taxation, accountancy and auditing who regularly
appears or otherwise engaged in tax practice before the BIR; and
d. Officers or duly authorized representatives of incorporated business entities engaged
in accounting, auditing or tax consultancy services.
Individual applicants, GPPs and partners of GPPs who were already accredited with the
Bureau of Accountancy (BOA) and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) shall no longer
be required to undergo the various processes for accreditation under these Regulations. But they
shall automatically be accredited and issued a BIR Certificate of Accreditation upon payment of
the processing fee.
The following individuals are allowed to appear and practice before the BIR without
undergoing accreditation proceedings:
a. Individual taxpayers acting on their own behalf, provided they present satisfactory
identification;
b. Members of the Philippine Bar not suffering from suspension/disbarment. However,
they may at their option, apply for accreditation; and
c. Other individuals presenting satisfactory proof of identification or authority in any
one of the following circumstances of limited practice or special appearances:
i. An individual representing a member of his or her immediate family;
ii. A regular full-time employee representing an individual employer;
iii. A bona fide officer or a regular full-time employee in representation of his
employer-corporation, association or organized group;
iv. A trustee, receiver, guardian, administrator, executor or regular full-time
employee in representation of a trust, receivership, guardianship or estate; and
v. An officer or a regular employee of a government unit, agency, or
instrumentality representing said unit, agency or instrumentality in the course of
his or her official duties.
The Chairmen and members of either Board shall serve for a maximum term of 3 years
from the date of their nomination. Thereafter, the Commissioner of Internal Revenue (CIR) shall
reconstitute the same through a Revenue Special Order for that purpose with the end view that no
chairman or member of either Board shall serve therein for a term in excess of 3 consecutive
years. Provided, however, that any vacancy occurring prior to the end of said term shall be filled
up by any qualified senior officer as may be assigned by the Commissioner.
The grant of accreditation shall be based on the applicant’s professional competence,
integrity and moral fitness. The following are the minimum qualifications prescribed for
individual tax agents (other than a member of the Philippine Bar):
a. He/she must be a CPA with current professional license from the Professional
Regulations Commission (PRC);
b. If he/she is not a CPA, he/she must have obtained at least a degree in Law, Juris
Doctor (JD) or its equivalent, or a Bachelor’s degree in Arts, Commerce, or Business
Administration with at least 18 units in accounting and/or taxation in a college or
university recognized by the Department of Education (DepEd)/Commission on
Higher Education (CHED) or in a foreign school of known repute or one duly
recognized by its government. In addition, he/she must be able to demonstrate or
present convincing proof of special competence in tax matters or tax practice, e.g.,
previously acquired experience; and at least 18 credit hours of special training,
seminars, short-term courses, etc. in taxation obtained not more than 1 year prior to
the application for accreditation, subject to evaluation and approval by the Board;
c. He/she must be of good moral character as certified to under oath by at least 2
disinterested persons who are either members of the Philippine Bar or CPAs in good
standing;
d. He/she must not have been charged with and convicted by final judgment of a crime
involving moral turpitude, or found guilty of any act or omission penalized under the
Tax Code, or found guilty of aiding or abetting or causing the commission of any
such offense by another; and
e. He/she must be a citizen of the Philippines.
In cases of GPPs engaged in the exercise of professional accountancy, auditing or tax
consultancy services (other than general professional partnerships engaged in the practice of
law), the application for accreditation filed by the partners and/or the duly authorized officers
and representatives shall conform with the following:
a. The partners and duly authorized officers or representatives must meet all the
qualifications of an individual tax agent as prescribed in Section 4 (A) of the
Regulations. In lieu of the submission of documents or proof, said qualifications may be
certified to under oath by the managing partner of the firm; and
b. The partnership is one registered with the SEC.
In the case of incorporated entities engaged in accounting and tax consultancy other than
general professional partnerships, the firm must be registered with the SEC and the applicant-
officers or duly authorized representatives thereof must meet all the qualifications of an
individual as prescribed under Section 4 (A) of the Regulations.
All applicants should accomplish their application for accreditation prescribed by the CIR
and submit it, together with all applicable documentary requirements, to the RRAB of the place
where the individual applicant or general professional partnership has his/its residence or
principal place of business.
Individual applicants and GPPs who are duly accredited by the BOA and SEC, however,
shall submit their duly accomplished application form, together with the documentary
requirements, to the RNAB.
The following are the documents that must be submitted by the applicants together with
their duly accomplished application forms:
a. For Individual Applicants
i. Certificate of registration and current license with the PRC, if a CPA;
ii. Certificate of membership with Philippine Institute of Certified Public
Accountant (PICPA) or ACCPA, if a CPA;
iii. Certificate of Good Moral Character issued by 2 disinterested persons, who are
either member of the Bar or CPA in good standing; and
iv. If non-CPA, certified copy of transcript of records from the university or college
showing compliance with the required units in accounting or taxation as
prescribed in the Regulaitons; or in lieu thereof, proof of special competence in
tax matters or tax practice, e.g., previously acquired experience; at least 18 credit
hours of special training, seminars, short courses, etc., in taxation obtained not
more than 1 year prior to the application for accreditation, for the appreciation
and approval by the concerned Board.
b. For Partners, Directors, Officers or duly authorized representatives of GPPs and
incorporated entities engaged in accounting and tax consultancy
i. Certificate of good moral character issued by 2 disinterested persons who may
either be member of the Bar or CPA in good standing.
ii. Other applicable requirements for an individual applicant, or in lieu thereof,
certification under oath by the managing partner(s) that the applicant acting for
the firm possesses all the qualifications prescribed in the Regulations.
iii. For those Partners, Directors, Officers or duly authorized representatives of
GPPs duly registered with the SEC, in addition to the above documentary
requirements, a certification from the BOA if the said Partner, Director, Officer
or duly authorized representative is a CPA. Provided, however, that the
requirements prescribed under letters a, b and c of Section 5(B)(1) of the
Regulations need not be submitted if the Professional Partnership can submit a
certified true copy of its SEC Certificate of Accreditation, as well as the SEC
Certificates of Accreditation and BOA Certificates of Registration of all the
partners, officers and representatives of the Professional Partnership of CPAs.
iv. List of all current partners, directors, officers, associates or representatives duly
authorized by the GPP to act on its behalf in representing its client before the
BIR.
c. For Individuals and GPPs accredited by BOA and SEC
i. Certified true copy of BOA Certificate of Registration; and
ii. Certified true copy of SEC Certificate of Accreditation.
Each applicant shall pay a non-refundable processing fee of P 500.00 upon filing of his
application for accreditation. If the applicant is a GPP, the fee shall be paid by each partner and
authorized representative thereof. In the case of incorporated entities engaged in accounting and
tax consultancy services, the fee shall be paid by each of the applicant officers or designated
representatives thereof.
Accredited tax agents shall likewise be required to submit the following documents as an
attachment to the initial filing of reports, protests, request for ruling, official correspondence and
other statements, papers or documents filed on behalf of a particular taxpayer as proof of their
authority to represent the concerned taxpayer:
a. Copy of current Engagement Letter with clients; and
b. Special Power of Attorney executed by the client authorizing the practitioner to
represent him before the BIR.
The RRAB shall act upon all applications for accreditation by verifying the qualifications
of an applicant, and the completeness of the required documentation. If an application is
determined to be complete, that is, all necessary supporting documentations have been
submitted, and the applicant’s qualifications found to be in conformity with the provisions of
these Regulations, the application shall be stamped “RECEIVED” bearing the date the completed
application was received by the RRAB. Thereafter, the RRAB shall, within 30 days from receipt,
evaluate the application and forward its recommendation thereon to the RNAB.
The RNAB shall act upon all applications for accreditation recommended to it by the
RRAB. In all cases, the said Board shall have the exclusive authority to approve/disapprove any
applications for accreditation which shall be acted upon within 30 days from receipt of the
recommendation of the RRAB. Application for accreditation of practitioners who are duly
accredited by the BOA and SEC, as evidenced by a copy of the BOA Certificate of Registration
and SEC Certificate of Accreditation shall, upon payment of the processing fee, be automatically
issued a BIR Certificate of Accreditation by the RNAB. Applicants whose applications for
accreditation have been approved by the RNAB shall be issued a Certificate of Accreditation
signed by its Chairman and shall be valid for a period of 3 years from the date of issue, unless
sooner revoked for cause. For purposes of easy identification, the CIR shall issue an
identification card to each accredited tax agent or practitioner.
Application for accreditation that has been disapproved by the RRAB shall be appealable
to the RNAB. Any application disapproved by the RNAB may be appealed to the CIR. An
adverse decision by the Commissioner may be appealed to the Secretary of Finance, who shall
rule on the appeal within 60 days from receipt of such appeal. Failure of the Secretary of Finance
to rule on the appeal within the prescribed period shall be deemed as approval of the application
for accreditation of the appellant.
The resignation, retirement, death or incapacity of any partner of a general professional
partnership who has been accredited by the RNAB shall not result in the cancellation of the
partnership’s accreditation but only that of the concerned partner’s accreditation. The partnership,
however, must notify the RNAB, and the RRAB having jurisdiction over the partnership’s
principal place of business, of such occurrence and shall surrender to the RNAB the concerned
partner’s Certificate of Registration or Identification Card for cancellation.
The following norms of conduct are defined for the observance of tax practitioners:
a. No tax practitioner shall represent conflicting interests in his practice before the BIR,
except by express consent of all directly interested parties after full disclosure has
been made.
b. The practitioner must make inquiry as to all relevant facts of the tax case, be satisfied
that the material facts are accurately and completely described, and assure that any
representation contains no falsehood.
c. The practitioner must relate the law to the actual facts and, when addressing issues
based on future assumptions, must clearly identify what facts are assumed.
d. The practitioner must ascertain that all material tax issues have been fairly addressed
and fully considered.
e. Where possible, the practitioner must provide an opinion consonant with existing
laws and regulations. He shall not present as true those matters or issues which he
knows to have been voided, superseded or otherwise invalidated.
f. The practitioner advising a client on matters of tax liability must inform the client of
the penalties which may likely apply to him in case of failure or omission to pay the
tax in relation to the position advised, prepared or reported.
g. The practitioner advising a client on tax matters must make reasonable inquiries if the
information as furnished appears to be incorrect, inconsistent or incomplete and to the
extent possible, examine the proof or relevant documents in support of his client’s
representations.
Willful or reckless violation of any of the said norms may be subject to disciplinary
action before the Boards.
The accreditation certificate may be suspended, cancelled or revoked, as the case may be,
upon petition by a taxpayer or by the PICPA or by the Tax Management Association of the
Philippines (TMAP) and other similar professional organizations, or upon petition by any
internal revenue officer, or upon motu propio action by the RRAB or RNAB, after due notice
and hearing set for the purpose, based on any of the following grounds:
a. Conviction of any criminal offense under the Tax Code, or of any offense involving
dishonesty, or breach of trust;
b. Giving false or misleading information, or participating in any way in the giving of
false or misleading information to the BIR or to any officer or employee in
connection with any matter pending before them, knowing such information to be
false or misleading;
c. The use of false or misleading representations with intent to deceive a client or
prospective client in order to procure employment, or representing that he can ably
obtain special consideration or action from the BIR or officer or employee by
improper or unlawful means;
d. Willfully failing to make a tax return in violation of the NIRC, or evading, attempting
to evade, or participating in any way in evading or attempting to evade any national
internal revenue tax or payment thereof;
e. Knowingly counseling or suggesting to a client or prospective client of an illegal plan
to evade taxes or payment thereof or concealing assets to evade taxes or payment
thereof;
f. Misappropriating or failing to remit funds received from a client for the purpose of
payment of taxes;
g. Directly or indirectly attempting to influence, or offering or agreeing to attempt to
influence the official action of any officer or employee of the BIR by the use of
threats, false accusations, duress or coercion, or by offering any special inducement
or promise of advantage or by bestowing any gift, favor or thing of substantial value;
h. Disbarment or suspension from the practice as an attorney or as a CPA;
i. Contemptuous conduct in connection with practice before the BIR, including use of
abusive language, making false accusations and statements, knowing them to be false,
or circulating or publishing malicious or libelous matter;
j. Giving a false opinion, knowingly, recklessly or through gross incompetence,
including an opinion that is intentionally or recklessly misleading, or a pattern of
providing incompetent opinions on questions arising under the Tax Code. False
opinion includes those which reflect or result from a known misstatement of fact or
law from an assertion of a position known to be unwarranted under existing laws or
regulations; from advising or assisting in conduct known to be illegal or fraudulent;
from concealment of matters required by law or regulations to be revealed. A pattern
of conduct is a factor that will be taken into account in determining whether a
practitioner acted knowingly, recklessly or through gross incompetence; and
k. Upon administrative findings by the concerned Board that the holder of an
accreditation certificate has committed any of the offenses penalized under the Tax
Code.
A petition for disaccreditation/suspension of an accredited tax agent may be filed with the
RRAB having jurisdiction over the residence or principal place of business of the accredited tax
agent against whom the petition is being filed.
Petitions filed by PICPA, TMAP or any other similar professional or non-governmental
organization must be signed by the incumbent President of the organization concerned. Petitions
found to have been filed by fictitious persons or organizations, upon verification by the RRAB
concerned, shall be dismissed for lack of factual or legal bases.
No accredited tax agent shall be suspended or disaccredited without a prior hearing set
for the purpose. The RRAB with whom a petition for dis-accreditation/suspension was filed shall
conduct hearing(s) on such petition, to allow both the petitioner and the accredited tax agent
concerned to present their side of the case. In the conduct of hearings, a quorum is sufficient to
convene the RRAB. All such proceedings shall be presided over by the Assistant Regional
Director, in his capacity as Chairman, or in his absence, by the designated Vice-Chairman of the
RRAB.
Upon termination of the hearing, the RRAB shall submit the entire docket of the
proceedings for a petition for disaccreditation/suspension, together with its recommendation to
the RNAB for final action. The disaccreditation or suspension of an accredited tax agent must be
reached by a majority vote of the members of the RNAB present and voting. In cases of
disaccreditation or suspension, the RNAB shall issue to the tax agent concerned a Notice of
Disaccreditation/Suspension signed by its Chairman. A copy of such notice shall be sent to the
petitioner.
In the event that a petition for disaccreditation/suspension is not upheld, the RNAB shall
inform both parties of such decision, in an official communication signed by its Chairman.
In the event that accreditation previously granted to a tax agent was cancelled, suspended
or revoked, the applicant or tax agent concerned may appeal such disaccreditation/suspension to
the CIR within 15 days from the date of receipt of the official notice of denial or Notice of
Disaccreditation/Suspension. The decision of the CIR shall be immediately executory.
The decision of the Commissioner may, in turn, be appealed by the applicant/tax agent
concerned to the Secretary of Finance, through a Petition for Reconsideration, within 15 days
from the date of receipt of such decision. The Secretary of Finance shall act on a Petition for
Reconsideration within 60 days from the date of filing of such Petition. In the event that the
Secretary of Finance should be unable to act on such Petition within the specified period, the
decision of the CIR shall be deemed sustained.
Only those tax agents/practitioners, partners or officers of GPPs, or officers or directors
of corporate entities engaged in tax practice who have been issued Certificate of Accreditation or
ID card shall be allowed to represent a taxpayer or transact business with the BIR in
representation of a taxpayer for the purpose(s) defined in these Regulations. The BIR can refuse
to transact official business with tax practitioners who are not accredited before it and shall
require that certain official statements such as returns, financial statements, reports, protests,
requests for ruling, official correspondence and other statements, papers or documents filed on
behalf of a taxpayer be signed or certified to by accredited persons, which shall bear the
following information below the signature of the latter:
a. For Individuals (CPAs, members of GPPs and others)
i. Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN); and
ii. Certificate of Accreditation Number, Date of Issuance, and Date of Expiry.
b. For members of the Philippine Bar
i. Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN); and
ii. Attorney’s Roll number or Accreditation Number, if any.
None of the provisions of these Regulations shall be construed to authorize non-CPAs
who are granted ‘accredited tax agent’ status by virtue of these Regulations, to sign the financial
statements’ Auditor’s Certificate even if the same were for BIR purposes only.
All accredited tax agents/practitioners shall be included in a Master List of Accredited
Tax Agents/Practitioners, which shall be kept up-to-date by the RNAB.